Absolutes
by Unwillingly Me
Summary: Some things are pretty unknown, like when a person will die. No, "at the end of their life" is not an acceptable answer. Some people matter because others decide that they do. It is obvious now that death is the only absolute in every single life.


**Wow, I'm just doing real well. This is like, the third little oneshot that I've put out today. You all are probably impressed by how good I am at this. Just kidding. I'm not so sure this one's all that good. It's just a little Thalia/Artemis thing.**

**I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus, though I do have copies of the books.**

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><p>There was no mistaking the dark, melancholy cloud that hung low over the heads of the Hunters of Artemis. It was just impossible to ignore. Most of them were trying to act as if they hadn't lost anyone, but they all knew that they had. And to be honest, Thalia was getting sick of their depressed attitudes. Sure, it bothered her just as much as it bothered the rest of them. Half the time, Phoebe was in charge more than she was herself, simply because Phoebe kind of understood what she was doing more than Thalia did.<p>

Did they see Thalia wallowing in sadness? No, because she wasn't going to let anyone's death ruin anything. That sounded cold, but it didn't matter. When looked at from a point of view far from her own, nothing really mattered. But Thalia knew better than to say that to the others.

After a while, Thalia just walked off to gather her thoughts. Of course, these thoughts were mostly self-accusations.

It was her fault, wasn't it? It was her fault for not being there when people needed her help. Instead of going after Orion like others had, Thalia had helped Hylla herd the Amazon's younger sister out of the hideout. If she had been there, she could have helped.

At least, that's what the persistent voice in the back of her head kept telling her with its demeaning little tone. She could have saved at least one other life if she had been there. It was pathetic that she hadn't. Pathetic. That word dealt a huge blow to her mind. She had been pathetic. She hadn't helped her comrades when they needed her.

She threw a knife at a tree in frustration, in anger at herself. While the other Hunters felt empty, Thalia only felt anger. Her blood wouldn't stop boiling. She wanted to do something to avenge their deaths. That would make up for why they had died.

They had died because she wasn't there, right? Of course that was right. It was her fault for running off and not helping. But Orion was dead thanks to Hylla and her sister. And Gaea was gone for now thanks to Leo Valdez, the little idiot. There was nothing that Thalia could do, nothing to make up for her failure.

It didn't matter, but at the same time, it did matter because it was Thalia's fault in a way.

"Stop blaming yourself." The voice caused the daughter of Zeus to jump and turn around. "They wouldn't want you to blame yourself. You know that."

"How would you know?!" Thalia shot back immediately, not caring that this was Artemis she was shouting at. "You weren't there! You didn't see their bodies! Their faces! They looked terrified! You weren't there! You could have helped!"

There was finally an outlet to take her anger out on. Granted, releasing her anger at an all-powerful goddess was not a very smart idea. In fact, it was a rather stupid idea. Artemis could have easily turned her into some obscure animals and have the wildlife devour her in a second. She was sort of expecting that sort of punishment actually, but there seemed to be no immediate repercussions. That was not a cue to continue her rant, but she didn't care.

"You could have helped them. You could have fought Orion. Phoebe wouldn't have died. Did you even know that Phoebe was dead?" She was no longer yelling. It was almost as if her anger had evaporated into thin air. "Did you know who died? Or does it even matter? Why would it matter to you anyways? You could just recruit more people. After all, you're an immortal goddess. Why do any of us matter?"

To Thalia's surprise, there was no stupid, sappy explanation like how they were "all like sisters I never had" coming from Artemis. Not that she thought Artemis was stupid or sappy. It just seemed like something any living being would say just because it would seem fitting for the situation. She wasn't sure if she was relieved or overjoyed by this. Perhaps she had no opinion whatsoever. It wasn't like her opinion would bear great weight in the considerations of a goddess that looked like a twelve year old.

"Why do you matter? That's a simple question with a simple answer."

"Then what's the answer?"

"Because I feel like caring." A small smile crawled onto Thalia's face, despite the fact that she still wanted to be angry at Artemis. Because the anger would soon be directed at herself again. "As for blaming yourself, that is stupid because I've decided it's stupid. Do you blame yourself when a tree is cut down? No. Just imagine that every person you know is a tree from now on. It hurts less to see a tree fall than it does to see a person."

"I guess watching people die while you live isn't all that great."

"You know that it isn't the most fulfilling feeling in the world. You've not been alive nearly as long as I. If it was anyone's fault what happened, it was Gaea and Orion's combined." At this Artemis walked over to Thalia until the demigod could see her solemn eyes. In other words, they were a few short inches apart. "And mine as well, for allowing him to take them."

Perhaps it was the grief that Thalia had held back that led her to do something as drastic as what she did, but she found herself closing the gap between her and Artemis and capturing the goddess's lips with her own. Was it as wrong as letting the others die? No.

This was far worse. This could her killed. Killed by Artemis, by Apollo, maybe even by Zeus. Who knew? Certainly not her, but it didn't matter. Because nothing mattered when looked upon by that point of view that was so far from Thalia's. The only thing she really knew that was, despite her immortality, she was going to die one way or another, because death was written in story. And her story would eventually.

So if kissing Artemis was going to be, then so be it. At least she wasn't mad at herself for doing that.

When the kiss broke, Thalia was surprised to see a small, wolfish smile on Artemis's face. That was clearly what happened when you spend your time around wolves for so long. Of course, that really had nothing to do with how Artemis was smiling, but it was a thought that had entered Thalia's head before she realized how stupid it sounded.

"Now, we won't tell anyone about that, will we?" The question rang through Thalia's skull, glad that there wouldn't be any death right now. "Another thing we won't tell anyone about is rather important. Guess what it is?"

"What?" And without warning, Artemis pulled Thalia into a quick kiss and then began to lead her back to the little camp of tents.

"That or any of the others."

"What others?"

"They haven't happened yet?" There were two things Thalia was sure about now.

Number one- she was going to die eventually, even if she was presently immortal.

Number two- Artemis had to have lost her mind.


End file.
